Cinco de Mayo and Other Holidays We Get Wrong

Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, and no, it's not Mexican Independence Day. For some reason this is still a thing that people believe. Almost 40% of people believe it's about Mexican Independence Day, and 10% of people know what it's actually about. But that's nothing all that different from other holidays. Here is a list of holidays that are often perceived to be about something they're not.

Cinco de Mayo is about Mexican Independence Day. That's actually September 16th. Cinco de Mayo is all about the Mexican Army's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla, May 5th, 1862.

St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday because St. Patrick was Irish. St. Patrick was British, and didn't even identify as Christian until he was 16.

Independence Day was when the Declaration of Independence was signed. In reality, July 2nd was when the Second Continental Congress voted on the declaration, and it was officially approved on the 4th. But if you're looking to celebrate when it was signed, you'll have to wait a month. It was signed on August 2nd.

Jesus if the "reason for the season." Well, he can be, just not his birthday. You'd be hard pressed to find a scholar who believes Jesus was born on December 25th. The stories in the Bible don't line up with what would have been happening at that time of year. He was most likely born in the spring, and Christmas most likely started to be celebrated in December to line up with the Pagan holiday of Saturnalia. Also, considering the first references to his birthday didn't start happening until after 300 CE, it's also doubtful that he wasn't born in the year 1 CE.